16 Jan CRM Trends for 2019
Traditionally, at the turn of the year we take a closer look at the new and thriving CRM trends. We have read a number of articles on the technology in sales and marketing. This is how a short list of the 5 most frequently repeated trends emerged. We were able to draw a catalog of conclusions regarding the tendencies which should be observed in the 2019. Ready? Let’s break it down.
Ready? Let’s break it down.
1. Data exploration
It turns out that the market experts predict a “return to the roots” on the market of CRM systems. There is significantly less information about the upcoming era of artificial intelligence, chatbots, augmented reality etc. Looks like more people expect to turn to the traditional functions of CRM software and their intensive development.
Thus, to the top of the list for most likely-to-occur CRM trends goes the data exploration. It was highlighted (among others) by the CXO Today portal. The tendency is a direct consequence of the need for complex data analysis. It looks like a lot of businesses will try to explore their data base and make use of the many approaches to the kept statistics. What should matter more will be the arithmetical techniques in favor of getting the crucial, most useful chunk of data. Hence, the customer relationship management software should provide extensive reporting and Big Data capabilities. CRM users are likely to pay more attention to the quality rather than to the quantity of collected information. Therefore, we see an opportunity for all the producers offering intuitive report wizards with descriptive but comprehensible graphs.
2. Client satisfaction
A company called SelectHub, which specializes in data migration between systems, predicts that one of the key aspects of software development will be the drive to ensure a simple and complex Customer Journey.
Customer satisfaction means something beyond the general impression of service quality, it is about turning the consumer into your brand’s ambassador. The big challenge is to change the optics from what the salespeople perceive as stages of the transaction to what the client has to do in order to successfully go through their purchase process. A CRM system should provide mechanisms that make it easier to follow the so-called Customer Journey Map. The technology is already available for example inside the Internet monitoring tool by Brand24.
3. Going beyond customer expectations
Third trend on our list concerns the activities of the sales team and the initiative of each rep. According to the „Customers. The future of B-to-B customer experience. 2020” report, Customer Experience is going to be one of the most important factors to shape modern companies. It looks like even the price will not matter as much for the consumer as what they think about the support they have been given. This means that companies should invest more in the tools which ensure strong and positive CX. It is necessary to go beyond client’s expectations. It is safe to anticipate that in the 2019 we will be witnessing various improvements in the functional scope of CRM systems. As we have mentioned at the beginning, the return to the traditional methods in sales will cause a demand on features such as: co-working on opportunities, helping salespeople build positive CX and making sales happen.
4. Efficiency and productivity
This is the only point on our list that touches the AI technology. The IT industry experts predict that the next trend for 2019 will be… the improvement of sales’ performance. Though, at current level of customer expectations it needs to be supported by Artificial Intelligence mechanisms. Studies show that at least 32% of small companies declare interest in purchasing such technology. Hence, modern CRM software needs to be 100% AI-ready and support new types of machine learning solutions. It would be ideal if they would provide its own automation too. A big advantage of such mechanisms is reducing the response time to customer inquiries.
5. Security of Personal Data (post-GDPR)
InterContinental Finance & Law magazine published an interesting article called “A matter of trust”, which describes the need for constant growth and improvement of the customer-company relations. A big part of this approach is how the company handles personal information about their clients. The latest studies by Accenture and PwC show that 2/3 of the consumers require more transparency and openness when it comes to protection of their personal data. It is clearly an effect of the recent GDPR laws and how much hype they have gotten in the media during the past year. Furthermore, only 25% of people think that companies process their information responsibly. Only 15% say that entrusting personal data with companies has a positive impact on their lives. The above-mentioned studies clearly show a general lack of confidence in the companies in the field of personal data protection. CRM software is the key to processing information in accordance with the law. Therefore, the continuous development of CRM systems, not only in terms of the GDPR compliance, but also in terms of full transparency towards customers, concludes the list as the fifth trend in the CRM market in 2019.
